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You can check out both challenges and how to enter here for We Should Cocoa and here for Random Recipes. The premise is that you select a random cookbook, select a random page and cook it, this time with the added caveat of chocolate. I divided mine between sweet and savoury and landed on this beast which I bought from an Oxfam bookshop in 2006. You can see the last We Should Cocoa round up here.

Maybe it could be renamed Hot Mess Pudding. Because that is what I was left with after cooking it.

It doesn’t have many redeeming features. It’s supposed to be one of those self saucing puddings but the sponge to sauce ratio is awful. This a crime against my people.

You find an adequately sized oven proof dish which you know is adequately sized because you actually bothered to measure it. You then make a very liquidy batter made of butter, light brown sugar, milk, cocoa powder, flour and cinnamon and then sprinkle over a combination of cocoa powder mixed with more light brown sugar. The last part of this is important to note.

We then stick on the rest of the milk and put it in the oven.

The recommended cooking time for this is 45 to 50 minutes. No lie. I actually cooked mine for less.

And I still ended up with this.

I seriously want you to make eye contact with this. Look at that delicious *gulp* looking monstrosity of burnt sugar mixed with cocoa on top.

Look at how it has spewed over the edges of your oven proof dish despite it being adequately sized which you know because you measured it.

Do you see sauce? No. No, you don’t. The sauce is a lie.

The recipe calls for one whole teaspoon of cinnamon. Which you think might give it some flavour but again, no. The sponge part could have been redeeming but it wasn’t rich or even “luscious” as the book states. I thought I had ballsed up* (*technical term) the recipe. Missed an egg or more butter but I genuinely didn’t.

Fail.

This recipe and text was originally posted on Corner Cottage Bakery. You can see the original post here.

Why is this post now here? Click here to read all about my move from Corner Cottage Bakery to Honey & Dough.